35 years in service: Pomp and laughter as DMO bids Asmau Mohammed goodbye

IT was a packed house at the Newton Parks Resort over the weekend as employees of the Debt Management Office (DMO), family, friends and well-wishers flooded the doors to say goodbye and bid a happy retirement to Hajia Asmau Mohammed a former top director at the DMO.

After 35 years in service, it was time to honour a woman who had dedicated her life to the country, supporting several ground breaking initiatives that have placed the DMO as one of the highly respected institutions in the country. And there was no better way of sending her forth into the world to conquer more grounds than by hosting an evening of laughter and fun in her honour.

As those close to her regale the audience with tales of her extraordinary attributes, a testament to her managerial expertise, it became quickly how a three decade-long career which begun as an Assistant Secretary II and completed as a top Director at the nation’s Debt Management Office, could have made such a tremendous impact.

At the celebration which included plenty of laughs and some farewell tears, where for the most part, the hosts kept the mood upbeat with a robust and colourful programme of activities, those who have known her shared some of her achievements with guests at the occasion.

Mohammed, a pioneer staff at the DMO contributed significantly to the development and institutionalisation of various key government public finance policy initiatives and reforms, one of her former co-worker said. As a matter of fact, she played key roles in negotiating and implementing the historic deals that led to Nigeria’s exit from the Paris and London Clubs of Creditors, the audience were told.

As versatile and experienced public servant, she supported the institutionalisation of effective public financial management reforms at the sub-national level, through the entrenchment of sound debt management practices.

She was the National Coordinator of the Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank held in Abuja, May 18-19, 2005.  She received letters of Commendation from the Secretary-General of the African Development Bank, Cheikh Ibrahima Fall, for organising one of the very best ADB AGM in history, and she also got a commendation letter for stellar performance in leadership and prudent financial management from the minister of finance at the time, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Mohammed also served at the Ministry of Finance and the Internal Affairs Ministry, now Ministry of Interior. At the ministry of Finance, she worked at the Multilateral Institutions and External Finance Departments, where she was responsible for liaising with external creditors and managing Federal and State Government external creditor loan portfolios (from World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Development Bank, and US EXIM Bank). She was also once the Sectional Head of International Capital Market for States’ Projects.

She was in charge of processing applications for expatriate quota and served as a Personal Assistant (Technical) to the Permanent Secretary, at the ministry of internal affairs from where her journey started.

As the party was closing, Mohammed gave her speech, which highlighted a number of contributions from former colleagues who helped through a 35-year-long career in service to the nation.

“It is over the past 17 years that I have cultivated the relationships I have with most of you behind this event today. I can say that there have been too many highlights to enumerate. When I look back at the years past, I feel a sense of fulfilment knowing that we have formed strong bonds that go beyond the four walls of the office.

“My leaving DMO is not by any means a farewell. I will still be a member of the happy family that we have become just as we have some ex-DMO staff among us today. When I tell people that I’m now retired, there is always some form of surprise from their reaction. However, 35 years of public service have gone by in a flash and I believe it is the right time to retire when I still feel like I’m able to contribute in other ways to the larger society and I still have some energy left in me.

“I vividly remember the start of my career in public service from Ministry of Internal Affairs as Assistant Secretary II on August 9, 1982.  It is great to see how DMO has grown from infancy to be so well known across the country.

“Kudos to those who thought I deserved to be celebrated and came up with the idea of hosting this ‘celebration of years of service.’ To say that I am overwhelmed by this show of love will be a gross understatement. Each time I think I’ve seen all the great things you do, you come up with more pleasant surprises,” she concluded.

Although Mohammed has retired from the DMO, she has vowed to continue serving in retirement.